93 Decision Citation: BVA 93-11292
Y93
BOARD OF VETERANS' APPEALS
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20420
DOCKET NO. 92-11 438 ) DATE
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THE ISSUE
Entitlement to service connection for post-traumatic stress
disorder.
REPRESENTATION
Appellant represented by: Disabled American Veterans
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD
Nancy R. Kegerreis, Associate Counsel
INTRODUCTION
The veteran served on active duty from October 1966 to June
1969.
This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals
(Board) on appeal from a November 1990 decision by the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in St. Petersburg,
Florida (RO). A notice of disagreement was received in
January 1991. A statement of the case was issued in January
1991, and the veteran filed his substantive appeal in August
1991. A supplemental statement of the case was issued in
February 1992. The Board received and docketed the case in
July 1992. The case was then referred to the veteran's
representative, who entered additional written argument in
October 1992.
REMAND
The veteran contends that he presently has post-traumatic
stress disorder, which was incurred on active duty in
Vietnam. He has submitted a copy of a certificate stating
that he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal in February 1969
for heroism in defense of Long Binh Post. He has also
stated that he was awarded two Purple Hearts, and was a
prisoner of war. He notes that in February 1990 he had a
psychiatric evaluation with a diagnosis of post-traumatic
stress disorder and avers that his symptoms meet the
criteria of the disorder.
With respect to the claim for service connection for
post-traumatic stress disorder, the evidence shows that he
served in Vietnam, and that post-traumatic stress disorder
has been diagnosed. The diagnosis of post-traumatic stress
disorder first arose in February 1990. As a result of an
altercation with the police for which the veteran was
arrested, his attorney requested a psychiatric evaluation to
determine his competency to stand trial and his sanity at
the time of the incident. The psychiatrist concluded that
the veteran did not meet the State criteria for involuntary
hospitalization and that he knew right from wrong and could
understand the nature and quality of the charges against
him. During the evaluation, the veteran reported that he
had been wounded twice in Vietnam, that he had received the
Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts, and that he had been
captured and held prisoner by the enemy for 10 days. The
diagnostic opinion was: Axis I, (a) post-traumatic stress
disorder; (b) generalized anxiety disorder; Axis II,
personality disorder, (a) avoidant personality; Axis III,
physical illness, (a) degenerative arthritis, right knee
secondary to war wound; Axis IV, psychosocial stressors,
(a) severity: Severe; criminal charges; divorce; chronic
anxiety. The psychiatrist based his diagnoses upon the
results of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory,
his own observations of the veteran, and the veteran's
statements. A VA compensation and pension examination of
October l990 included diagnostic impressions of
post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety disorder.
The available service personnel records received from
official sources are negative as to any award of the Bronze
Star or the Purple Heart. While the veteran has submitted a
copy of his Bronze Star Award, he has not provided any
documentation relative to his claim of receiving two Purple
Heart Medals or of his being captured by the enemy. The RO
did attempt to obtain information from the National
Personnel Records Center relative to the veteran's Purple
Heart awards and prisoner-of-war status, but was
unsuccessful.
We note further that the veteran's service medical records
contain no reference whatsoever to wounds or injuries
sustained in combat. In fact, the records appear to be a
direct contradiction to the veteran's statements. The
veteran states, for example, in his notice of disagreement,
that he sustained a gunshot wound in the left wrist and
shrapnel wounds in a mine explosion for which he was
evacuated in April or May of 1969. In a psychiatric
interview he claimed a crushed left foot and damaged right
knee as injuries which occurred in combat.
The service medical records, on the other hand, show that
the veteran injured his right knee in Germany in 1968 when
he fell against a truck. Service medical records also show
that in late March 1969, the veteran received a closed
fracture of the right fifth metatarsal when a half-ton
trailer fell on his foot near Oasis, Republic of Vietnam.
The foot was immobilized in a cast, and the veteran was
evacuated to Japan in early April 1969. He was later placed
on limited duty--in Japan--because of loose bone and
cartilage in the right knee joint. He remained in Japan
until early June 1969.
Because the veteran's reported stressors are not fully
documented and because the VA has a duty to assist the
veteran in the development of all evidence pertinent to his
claim, we believe that further development of the case is
desirable. Accordingly, this case is REMANDED for the
following actions:
1. The veteran should be requested to
furnish specific details with regard to
the wounds or injuries he received in
Vietnam which resulted in his Purple
Heart awards. The details should include
when, where and how the incident
occurred, and what unit he was in at the
time. He should also be asked to furnish
copies of the citations received, or
details as to where, when and by whom the
award was made. In addition, he should
also be requested to furnish a similarly
detailed account of his reported
prisoner-of-war experience, to include
circumstances, dates, names of others,
and unit assignments and geographic
location, where captured and where he
returned to military control.
2. Thereafter, the RO should request
confirmation from the United States Army
and Joint Services Environmental Support
Group (ESG), Building 247, Stop 387,
Fort Belvoir, Virginia 22060, of the
stressors reported by the veteran in
response to item l above. ESG should be
furnished complete and accurate summaries
of all information in the claims folder
pertinent to the claimed stressors.
Copies of pertinent documents from the
claims folder should accompany the
request letter.
3. After the above stressor development
has been completed, the veteran should be
given a VA psychiatric examination by a
board of two psychiatrists, neither of
whom has previously examined or treated
him, to determine the diagnosis or
diagnoses of his psychiatric disorder(s),
if any. The examination should be
conducted in accordance with Chapter 20
of the Physician's Guide for Disability
Evaluation Examinations, and the
examiners should evaluate whether the
veteran's confirmed or established
stressors meet the diagnostic criteria
for post-traumatic stress disorder as
contained in DSM-III (revised). The
claims folder should be made available to
the examiners so that they may have
available the complete record of the
veteran's service including all
documented stressors.
After completion of the requested development the case
should be reviewed by the RO. If the determination remains
adverse to the veteran, the case should be returned to the
Board after compliance with the provisions for processing
appeals including the issuance of a supplemental statement
of the case.
By its REMAND, the Board intimates no opinion as to the
ultimate determination warranted.
BOARD OF VETERANS' APPEALS
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20420
WARREN W. RICE, JR. ROBERT D. PHILIPP
FRANCIS F. TALBOT
Continued on Next Page
Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 1991), only a decision of the
Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United
States Court of Veterans Appeals. This remand is in the
nature of a preliminary order and does not constitute a
decision of the Board on the merits of your appeal.
38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (1992).